Feeding the Birds
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: During a winter field trip to the Vale National Park, young Ren and Nora try their hands at feeding the birds. While plenty of them land on Ren, Nora just wants to get one to approach her.


**I was inspired to write this when walking around the park the other day. There's an area where you can hand feed chickadees near the nature center, and I did that for a little while. It was so peaceful and I just loved the feeling I got whenever a bird landed on my hand. I thought it would be fun to write a story based on that. We all need more kid Nora and Ren in our lives.**

 **Also, I figured that we'd need a nice dose of fluff. Tomorrow is gonna hurt, so here's some cuteness to make you happy until we are all forced to stop pretending that the episode preview never happened. Enjoy!**

It was a cold, crisp day in the Vale National Park as the class from the Rainbow Hearts Orphanage walked down one of the many trails. The group consisted of ten students, one teacher, and three Hunters who patrolled the trees surrounding the trail behind, alongside, and in front of the class. Regular sweeps by local Hunters kept Grimm out of the park, but it was still good to be cautious when large groups of children were concerned.

"Slow down, Nora! The trail is icy," Miss Gray, the middle-aged, beleaguered teacher, called futilely as the pink-clad ten year old in question sprinted ahead. She groaned, turning toward Ren with a hopeless look on her face.

"I'll make sure she doesn't fall," the green-coated boy assured her before jogging after his best friend. "Nora, wait up."

Of course, Nora immediately stopped when Ren called. "It's so pretty here, isn't it? I wish there was more snow, though. There isn't even enough to make good snowballs." She kicked at the thin layer of loose, dust-like snow in the grass beside the park trail.

"Let's stick with the group," Ren advised, grabbing her hand to keep her from running off again. "You know how Miss Gray worries."

Nora rolled her eyes. "She worries too much. I'm fine." Still, she didn't want to let go of Ren's hand and he seemed determined to keep her from straying, so she decided to give in this time and wait for the others to catch up.

Miss Gray breathed a long sigh as she approached. "Thank you, Ren. Nora, please stay close. Once we get to the nature center, you can run around if you want."

"Okaaaaay," Nora said, grumbling quietly at how slow everyone else was.

They continued to walk, Miss Gray explaining what different types of animals and plants lived in that area. Ren listened intently while most of the other kids yawned or stared vacantly at the trees to see if a Grimm would jump out for one of the Hunters to fight.

Eventually, they reached the nature center, a small wooden cottage surrounded by a larger field. To the side of the cottage was a small area surrounded by an old wooden post fence.

"Why is there a random fence?" Nora asked.

"During the week, they hang bird feeders from the trees and people by that large window there can look at the animals," Miss Gray explained. "Visitors are also allowed to stand by the fence and feed the birds. In fact, that's what you'll be doing if you want. The Hunters are going to be stationed around the field. As long as you stay within sight, you can play or feed the birds or look inside the nature center. There's cocoa and cookies."

At the mention of sweets, Nora immediately dragged Ren through the door. For a half hour, they walked around the warm, small hut. Nora sipped cocoa and wrinkled her nose at a stuffed coyote while Ren watched a black-colored snake as it blinked lazily from its tank.

Once Nora was full of cookies and bored with the inside of the nature center, she pulled Ren back outside. "I wish there was enough snow to actually _do something_ with," she murmured, breathing a cloudy sigh. "I'm boooored."

Ren glanced toward the fence, where a few of the kids were holding out hands filled with birdseed. "We could feed the birds."

" _You_ could, maybe," Nora muttered. "I can't hold still long enough for them to land. My arm gets tired."

"The fence is low," Ren pointed out. "If we rest our arms on the posts, they won't get tired."

Nora immediately brightened. "Oh! You're right. Let's try it." She ran over to where the birdseed bags were and grabbed a handful before propping her arm on one of the fence posts.

Ren walked over at a much slower pace, taking a handful of seed. "Let's stand by that tree. Then, they'll jump from the branches to our hands."

"Good idea!" Nora declared, following him to a different part of the fence. "You're really smart, Ren."

Blushing a little under his green scarf, Ren approached the fence and propped his arm up, holding his hand out palm-up. He went still and watched.

For a few minutes, nothing happened. A few birds fluttered by the tiny trees and a bunch of squirrels scampered on the ground. He spotted some chickadees by the feeders, along with some small gray birds with tufts on their heads.

Nora seemed to be looking in the same direction, because she asked: "What are those gray birds?"

"Cardinals?" Ren shrugged. Those were the only birds he knew that had tufts, though they were usually bright red. The females were brown or gray though, right?

"Actually," Miss Gray said as she walked over. "Those aren't cardinals. See how their beaks are thin and black? No, those are titmice."

Nora let out a lout snort. "Wait, what are they called?"

"Titmice," Miss Gray repeated.

"Could you say that again slower?"

"Tit…" Miss Gray's eyes widened and her hands went to her hips. "Nora! Don't be immature."

Ren turned his head to the side to hide the grin on his face while his best friend fell on the ground laughing. He bit down on his lip as their teacher walked away with a huff. "Really, Nora?" he snickered.

"Oh, come on. I had to!" Nora stood up, her face still red with mirth. "Well, it's decided. I gotta have one of those things land on me. Pfft! Titmice…" Realizing she had dropped her birdseed, she ran off to get more.

Meanwhile, Ren looked back toward the fence. His arm hadn't moved from its position and a few birds in the tree nearby were looking at him curiously. After another minute, a chickadee landed on his hand.

It was so tiny and light, fitting perfectly in his palm. Even someone as young as Ren could have easily closed his hand and crushed it. Of course, that was the last thing he wanted to do. _Its legs are so thin,_ he mused. _They're thinner than toothpicks._ He watched the bird's black and white face as it pecked at the seeds. Finally, it picked up a sunflower seed in its beak and flew away, taking that soft, feather-light pressure with it.

Nora stopped short on her way back to Ren when she saw the bird on his hand. Her friend's expression didn't change much, but she knew him well enough to see the glimmer of wonder that entered his magenta eyes and the way the corners of his mouth quirked ever so slightly upward. That face alone made her decide that this had definitely been a worthwhile field trip.

After the little bird flew away, she ran over and stood next to Ren, propping her arm up on the fence post like he was doing. "Think I'll get one?"

"Maybe," Ren replied. "Though, you have to be both still _and_ quiet."

"Yeah…"

After a few uneventful minutes, something small and dark ran under the fence and started eating the seeds that had fallen from the feeder. Nora let out a gasp.

"Ren, look! It's a tiny Grimm!"

Ren's shoulders tensed only for a moment before he realized what Nora was looking at. He shook his head at her. "It's not a Grimm, Nora. It's just a black squirrel."

"Hm…" The pink-clad girl's eyes narrowed as she watched the squirrel hop onto a log, ebony tail twitching. "Are you sure it isn't half-Grimm?"

"The other squirrels would be running if it was a Grimm," Ren reasoned. "It's like how black panthers are really jaguars with black fur. Squirrels have that too."

"Oh. Okay." Nora calmed down and leaned against the fence again, her eyes fixed on the squirrel. "It's kinda pretty, in that case."

A light pressure caused Ren to look back at his hand. A titmouse had landed on his thumb and was pecking curiously at the seeds in his palm. This bird was slightly larger than the chickadee. Silly name aside, it was quite beautiful with its soft, cloud-gray feathers, tufted head, and dark eyes. It picked up a few seeds and put them down again before finally selecting one and flying away.

Upon seeing the titmouse, Nora tried as hard as she could to be still. If she could get just one bird on her hand, she'd be happy. Unfortunately, something caught her eye and she just had to point it out to Ren. "Hey, Ren. Look at that big bird over there." 

Ren turned his head to see a woodpecker with a striped face and red feathers on top of its head. It was pecking at one of the dead trees past the fence. "Pretty," he said quietly, still not moving his hand.

Another half hour passed before Miss Gray started rounding up the students. Nora stiffened and closed her mouth, staring intently at her hand. Ren dumped his remaining seeds on the ground for the squirrels and stepped away from the fence.

"Ren, Nora, it's time to go," Miss Gray called over.

Nora sighed and prepared to dump her seeds as well, when she noticed something small and gray alight on a branch. She resisted the urge to turn her head to look at it. Instead, she waited.

The sound of fluttering wings sounded in her ear before a titmouse alighted on her hand. She barely kept from letting out a whoop of joy as the little bird looked at her face curiously before selecting a seed and flying away.

She turned to grin at Ren. "I got one!"

Her turquoise eyes glistened and her smile made her whole face glow. Ren couldn't help smiling back. "Yeah, you did. Ready to head back?"

"Uh huh!" Nora was so excited, she ended up hugging his arm rather than holding his hand. He didn't seem to mind, so she held on as they rejoined the class. "Bye, creepy non-Grimm squirrel!" she called to the black squirrel, which was still snuffling beneath the feeders

Despite the rapidly-spreading numbness in Ren's hand and arm, he didn't pull away from Nora during the walk back to the bus. Instead, he listened to her excited babble, nodded quietly when appropriate, and allowed himself another chuckle when she joked about the titmice.

As they walked, a few white snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky.

 **Here you go. A nice little fic before our feels are stabbed. Depending on what happens tomorrow, I may write something in response. Like…a story where Yang is covered with puppies while…drinking spiked milkshakes because that's probably what I'll be drinking. Peace out!**


End file.
